Manufacture of silicides and silicon alloys.



i liTlill S'ldfill ArnNT orrron.

FRANK J. TONE, OF NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK. rsaraueacrone i= sameness sun swoon ALLOYS- no. sea s27.

Specification of Letters Patent.

memes Oct. 16, 1206.

Application and May 18, 1905; GerialNo. 261,067.

To all, whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK J. TONE, of Niagara Falls, Niagara county, New York, have. invented a new and useful Improvement in the Manufacture of Silicidesend Silicon Alloys, of which the following is a full, clear,

andexact description.

My iuventlon refers to the use of silicon CBJlJId in the production of metallic silicides and silicon alloys. It may be applied in the production of various silicidessuch as silici des of iron, copper, manganese, aluminium,

, calcium, or dou pable of combining as an allo with the added metal of the c arge.

a mixture of carborundum and iron be and heated to the temperature ordinarily obtained in the manufacture of steel, the iron will absorb only limited quantities of .o 's'ilicon. l have discovered that if the'reac- ,tion is brought about in an electric furnace, where much higher temperatures are obtainable, the absorption of silicon is very ra id and takes place in much larger amount. he carborundum decomposes mto its constituent elements, carbon and silicon, the silicon uniting with the iron and the carbon being for the most part thrown out as graphite. .Uerrosllicons having Various proportions of silicon may be obtained by varying the relative amounts of carborundum and iron used. A typical reaction is the following, in which the charge consists of fifty-six parts iron and forty parts. carborundum, and there is formed '1 a ferrosilicon containing thirty-three per cent.

silicon:

Fe+SiC (Fe+Si)+G.

The carbon liberated in this reaction may be 1 treated as a waste product; but I prefer to following equation is ty ical of the process when iron oxid is adde to unite with the carbon liberated from the carborundum:

The followin equation is typical of the process when si ica is added for the purpose of uniting with the carbon liberated by the carborundum, thus roducing a further quan tity of silicon, whic forms'part of the alloy:

When silica is added to a mixture of the oxid and carborundum, the following equation is typical of the process:

If it is preferred to use with the carborundum only the oxid of the metal the silicide of .which it is desired to roduce, a mixture of the oxid and carborun um can be made such that the carbon liberated will be of the exact amount necessary to reduce the oxid, and a typical reaction may be expressed as follows:

The process may be applied also to the production of double silicides or to silicon al- .oys containing several metalsas, for example, an alloy containing silicon, manganose, and aluminium. sFor example, by using a mixture containing two hundred parts carborundum, eighty-seven parts manganese dioxid, and one hundred and two parts alumina there is obtained an alloy consisting of one hundred and forty parts silicon, fifty-five parts manganese, and fifty-four parts aluminium. This reactionmay be expressed as follows:

Carborundum in its crystalline form is en tion under the generic term silico-carbon The roduct commercially compound.

siloxicon, which is a silico-carknown as hon compound produced by the incomplete reduction of silica, isulso included thereln.

For the production of silicides according to rnyprocess the use of crystalline carborundum is the most economical, as the contained silicon is in the completely-reduced state. However, in certain cases it may be pre ferred to use smorphous csrborundum or SilOXlCOH on accountof its lower cost The letter material can be used after the some manner as crystelline carborundum', requiring, however, greater expenditure of electricel energy. v

in the practice of my invention I may use any oi'the known suitable types of electric hirnecss "in which temperatures higher than. the melting oints of iron and steel are ohtsined. I'pisce the charge material therein, preferably in a broken, pulverized, or granulsr form, fuse it, end obtain the reactions above stated. The fused and agglomerated product is then tapped from the furnace.

"When alloys of iron and silicon are made, they csn he used to edvante e in the menu factors of steel, and the ot or compounds and alloys that can be made by my. process may he applied to the usesiin the site for which they are respectively edsoted.

1 sm errors that carhid of silicon has been used ss en ed ditionio'moltenironend steel st the temperatures produced in ordinary metallurgical furnaces, for the purpose of km roving theirproperties for structural and industrial uses, and I make no claim of such process. The process herein described so far as it relates to the manufacture of iron alloys contem lates their manufacture at a tern eratuie higher than that producled in such ihrneces and the production of alloys contsining silicon in amounts of ten per cent. or

more.

I claim- 1 l. The process of producin .alloys' and Icompounds which consists in 811': 'jecting met- .alliferous material with s carhid of an ele' ment to heat suilicient tojdissociate said element from the carbon andcs use its combination with the metal oithe charge.

2. The proccss of producing metallic silicides and silicon alloys which consistsin subjecting silicon cerbid sud metalliferous material to heat suilicientto dissociate the silicon oithe'carbid and cause the combination of thesilicon with the metal.

B. The process of producing metellicsilicides and silicon alloys which consists in subjecting crystalline silicon carbid and metalliferous material to heat suiiicient to dissociate the silicon of the carbidfand cause the combination of the silicon with the metal.

4. The process of producing metallic silicides and silicon alloys which consists in subjectingsilicon carhid and mctalliferous material to elccti icallydeveloped heat suflicicnt to dissiu'latc the silicon oi" the csrbid nation of the silicon with the metal.

scars? and cause the comliinetion of the silicon with the metal.

5. The process of producing metallic silicides and silicon alloys which consists in subjecting silicon carhid and metalliferous ma tcrial cantaining a metal compound or compounds to electrically-developed hes-t sufli cient to dissociate the silicon in the carbid,- reduce the metal com ound contained in the metslliferous material and cause the combination of the silicon with the metal.

'6. The process of producing metsllic silicides and silicon alloys which consists in sub--- substance to electrically-developed heat Sui-ii: cient to dissociate and cause e combination of the silicon with.

the metal.

ooting silicon carbid and a metal-containing the silicon in the carhiol 7. The process of producing metallic-sills cides and silicon slloys which consists in sub jecting silicon carliid-and a metal-containing substance to electrioally developed heat sufficient to dissociate the silicon in the carbid, reduce the metal compound and cause"the combination of'the silicon with the metal.

8. The process of producing metallic silicides and silicon alloys which consists in subjecting silicon carbid, a metal-containing substance and a metal compound to clectrically-developed heat sufficient to dissociete the silicon in the carbid, reduce the metal compound and cause the combination of the silicon with the metal.

. 9. The process of producing metallic sili-:: 7

cities and silicon alloys which consists in sub jecting silicon carbid, 'silicious ore and .ametal-containing substance to electrically developed heat smficient to dissociate-the silicon in the carbid, reduce the silicon in the silicious ore and cause a'combination of the silicon with the metal. 10. The process of producing metallic siliaides-end silicon slloys which consists insub- 'iecting-silicon carbid, siliciouslcre and moteliferous material to electrically-developed host sufficient, to dissociate the silicon inthe use carhid, reduce the silicon in the silicious ore and the metal compounds contained in the" metalliferous material and cause the comhir2 5 12. The process of producing metallic silicollecting by gravity i 5 "from the furnace.

5 cides' and silicon alloys which consists in subjectin a mixture of silicon carbid .and a metaliferous material to electrically-developed heat sufficient to dissociate the silicon in. the carbid, reduce the metal com- IO pounds contained in the metalliferous material and cause the combination of the silicon with the metal and the agglomerating and of the metallic roduct in a molten mass, andthen tapping the same 14. The cides and'si icon alloys which consists in subjecti .an amor hous silico-carb0n componn and meta iferoii's material to elecrocess of producing metallic silitrically-developed heat sufficient to dissociate the silicon,.reduce the partly-reduced silicon'compound, and cause the combination of the silicon with the metal.

15. The process of producing metallic silijecting a compound containingsilicon and carbon and metalliferous material to electrically-developed heat sufficient to dissociate the silicon, reduce the silicon compound, and cause the combination of the silicon with the metal.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

FRANK TONEQ Witnesses I GEORGE W. CHQRMANN, 'FRED I. PIERCE.

cides and silicon alloys which consists in sub' 

